This was the 47th WIMA rally, the European one, held in the same year as an international rally outside Europe. At that time, a rally in Europe was considered the official rally as more members would be present and the Presidents’ Meeting would be better attended. This emphasis would change in time. 300 women from 19 countries participated and the location was a scout hut with a campground in Gyllebo, Skåne.
Anita Paulsson and Åsa Öhqvist, WIMA Sweden, wrote this report about the rally.
We were treated to mixed weather and, as so often in Sweden, we experienced some heavy rain but also some beautiful sunny days.
The rally schedule offered a mix of activities; there were self-guided ride outs to Alestenar (Ale stones) in Kåseberga and Kungagraven (the king’s grave) in Kivik. In the area was also the national park Stenshuvud and the popular cake buffet at the café Kaffestugan Annorlunda; Sweden is famous for ‘fika’ (i.e. spending quality time with friends over a cup of coffee preferably with cake or a cinnamon bun). As usual, there were different games, such as the traditional Swedish garden game ‘kubb’, which is a game where you throw wooden batons to try and knock over the opponent’s wooden blocks, and the Japanese took the win. We also tried our hand at archery led by Åsa Åkesdotter, professional sportswoman and WIMA member.
The evening entertainment included disco nights and live music as well as an after dark fire-art performance by the entertainment group Enjoy.
Some special features were the gentlemen’s dinner for accompanying partners and the lottery where you could win a sightseeing tour by helicopter. The lucky winner was Conny Tanner from Switzerland. The farewell dinner was whole roasted pig for carnivores and corn on the cob for vegetarians.
The police-led parade took us to Simrishamn, where we could display our bikes in the harbour, while having a stroll or perhaps even an ice-cream. We were fortunate with splendid weather for this day.
